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You Can Still Save On Christmas Gifts: Christmas Eve Sales Can Save You Up to 90% Off- Here’s How

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how many days to Christmas Eve

The holiday season is often hectic, and it’s easy to accidentally overlook the need to buy a gift for a loved one or friend. Plus, last-minute invites to gift-giving celebrations can happen, and if you don’t have a stash of gifts at the ready, you may need to purchase something right before Christmas. Fortunately, even when the answer to the question, “How many days to Christmas Eve?” is “none,” you can still save on Christmas gifts. Here’s how.

Head to Local Retailer Websites

In many cases, the easiest way to find out what’s on sale on Christmas Eve is to check a retailer’s website. Along with online sales flyers, you can see how much a product is discounted as you search for items. Plus, many retailers have special sections on their sites dedicated to holiday sales, and that will take you directly to the deals.

Just be aware that you want to focus on what’s available at local stores in your area. Usually, that means setting your preferred store as your shopping location on the website. Why is this important? Primarily, it’s because it lets you see local inventory levels. Then, you’ll know what’s available if you need to head to the store to get the gift. Plus, you may be able to use a convenient option – like in-store pickup or drive-up pickup – and pay for the item online, streamlining the entire process.

As you shop various sales, make sure to check out the prices of products that catch your eye at other local stores. There’s always a chance a competitor will have a better offer or some kind of bonus – like rewards points on a loyalty card – that makes it a stronger choice.

Start Early in the Day

When you’re trying to get the best deals through Christmas Eve sales, starting your gift search as early in the day as possible pays off. In many cases, retailers have a limited supply of deeply discounted items, so once everything available has been purchased, you won’t be able to get your hands on that gift. Essentially, this is a situation where the proverbial early bird gets the worm.

Exactly how early you want to start may vary by retailer. Some companies may list their bargains online before physical stores open, which is a boon if you want to schedule an in-store or drive-up pickup or simply want a game plan for when you head to the store. However, if the retailer doesn’t publish that information early, you can still increase your odds of getting great deals. Just find out when the store is opening and plan to be there as close to that time as possible.

Check Our Clearance Racks

If you don’t have much luck with the actual Christmas Eve sales, that doesn’t mean you’re entirely out of luck. There’s an excellent standby option that’s always worth checking if you want to find deep discounts: clearance racks.

Clearance racks are where retailers usually have their biggest bargains, and some items there may be up to 90 percent off the original retail price. While the items may be out-of-season technically, that doesn’t mean there aren’t solid gift items there. After all, not everything you give someone needs to be a winter-only item, so approach it with an open mind, and you might find the perfect Christmas present.

With this approach, you may need to head to several stores to see if you can find something suitable, which may make your Christmas Eve a bit hectic. Still, it’s potentially worth the effort if you really want to keep the cost down, so keep this strategy in mind.

Do you usually wait until right before Christmas to shop, or do you like to plan ahead? Do you have any tips that can help people take advantage of Christmas Eve sales or other discounts to get Christmas gifts for less? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Ripped from the Headlines: Bad Holiday Economic Mood

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Oh, look! I can overspend! Awesome!

Hey, if it works for Law and Order, “ripped from the headlines” should work for something more awesome like financial planning, right?

The headline on my local paper today reads BAD ECONOMIC MOOD ARRIVES FOR THE HOLIDAYS. That’s nothing earthshattering.

I’d like to focus on the subhead.  It reads, “ECONOMISTS SAY LACK OF CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN LESS SPENDING.”

It should.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the severity of the spending problem in America. We’re addicted to buying stuff.

It’s time to break the cycle.

Here’s three signs you’re headed for no-good this holiday season:

1)      You head to the store without a budget. Stores spend all year waiting for the holiday season. With military precision, they lay out displays and aisle end-caps to claw money from your pockets. Need proof? How about this: Walmart has already announced that they’ll meet any price, even if you’ve already purchased the item! That’s how serious companies are about you. You need to be equally serious when you hit the mall to buy gifts.

2)      You sign up for the department store credit card. I’m inundated each holiday season by “10 percent off today’s purchase if I sign up for the Kohl’s Visa!” …and other garbage promotions.  10 percent off is better than chocolate covered peanuts, but the gi-normous interest rate these store cards charge is where companies earn a monster profit.

3)      You buy the holiday season on credit. This next line may sound silly.  Ready?  Here goes:  If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it.  The shame you’ll feel in January when the card statements arrive isn’t worth the fun of picking out that special remote control airplane for your favorite financial blogger and charging it. Almost, but not quite.

I know, not rocket science, but most financial planning concepts are simple. It isn’t that you haven’t heard of a concept, it’s that you don’t practice it.

So, to prep for holiday season, here’s your homework:

a)      Determine your budget. How much are you going to spend on gifts? On parties? On ornaments and decorations?

Don’t stop there. We aren’t done with the budget yet. Check it twice, they say in the song. Can you afford these numbers and also your long term goals? Are you spending money on presents that should be placed into your retirement fund? ….that you should be spending on health insurance?

b)      Place the credit cards “on ice.” I had a client who put her credit cards in a tupperware bowl, filled the bowl with water, and stuck it in the freezer. That way, she had a credit card, but had to think long and hard before de-thawing her funds (talk about frozen assets! Oh, stop, I’m killin’ it!).

c)      Create a separate “holiday fund.” When it’s empty, holiday spending is done. Kaput. Finished.

If you want to get hardcore about it (and I know my readers are hard-core savers, aren’t you?), place the holiday fund at a separate bank with a separate ATM card. Set up direct contributions to the account each month from your primary checking account. This way, you’re filling the tank 11 months of the year and draining it one month.

You have choices around the holidays. The worst choice would be to let retailers control your spending habits. By heading into the mall with a plan and sticking to your guns, you control the economy that’s most important to you:

your own.

–          joe